Category: Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology
Dr. Saira Sheikh is Elected to American College of Rheumatology (ACR’s) Board of Directors
Saira Sheikh, MD In addition to joining the ACR’s governing body, Dr. Sheikh has been appointed to serve as the ACR Board of Directors liaison to the Collaborative Initiatives Department (COIN). The COIN department highlights rheumatology’s relevance to the healthcare community and public by using rheumatic diseases as case studies for treating complex disease, advancing health e … Read more
Department of Medicine Grants & Funding: November 1 – November 30, 2022
Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology Mildred Kwan, MD, PhD, and team received a Pfizer grant to address health disparities in antimicrobial stewardship. Division of Pulmonary Diseases and Critical Care Medicine Scott Randell, PhD, was awarded a $2 million grant titled, “Validation of the RD-X19 COVID Treatment Device toward Regulatory Approval and Commercialization.”
Using Collaboration to Fight a Tricky Tick-Borne Disease
A Lone star tick next to forceps Alpha-Gal Syndrome, or AGS, is a recently identified tick-borne disease that triggers an allergy to red meat and other products made from mammals, including cheese, gelatin, and medications like heparin. Since its discovery in 2009, cases in the United States alone have risen from 24 to >40,000 people, owing to the geographic spread of the tick … Read more
Dr. Mildred Kwan and Dr. Andrew Winslow Receive $100K Pfizer Grant to Address Health Disparities in Antimicrobial Stewardship
The 2-year grant will help build capacity to address health disparities through antimicrobial stewardship telehealth and telemonitoring. The name of the grant is: “A novel patient-led penicillin allergy de-labeling program targeting underserved children through a mobile-enabled virtual platform.” Dr. Kwan is an Allergy & Immunology faculty member in the UNC Thurston Arthritis … Read more
TARC Holds Fifth Annual “Research Day”
Approximately 100 leading researchers and clinicians, research staff and trainees gathered recently to discuss innovative ways to advance research in arthritis, allergy, and autoimmune diseases. Additionally, attendees who couldn’t participate in person attended remotely. Of particular interest this year was keynote speaker and John B. Winfield, MD Visiting Scholar, Ali Ellebedy, … Read more
Department of Medicine Grants & Funding: September 1 – September 30, 2022
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Andrew Moon, MD has received a $200,000 (AASLD) Clinical, Translational and Outcomes Research Award (CTORA) from the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases for his grant on “Incorporating the Patient Voice into Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment Models”. Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology Doug Phanstiel, PhD … Read more
A Better Way to Evaluate Penicillin Allergies
On September 28, 1928, Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin. To commemorate this momentous discovery, every year on September 28th, we celebrate National Penicillin Allergy Day to raise awareness that carrying a penicillin allergy label may negatively affect a patient’s health when it is not accurate. Even though 10% of the U.S. population believes they have a penicillin aller … Read more
Featured Physician: Amika Sood, MD
Amika Sood, MD, is an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology. Dr. Sood evaluates patients in the UNC Allergy clinic with a broad range of allergic disorders. If she wasn’t a physician, she may have been an interior designer, event planner or professional baker… “The possibilities are endless!”
Drs. Booth and Loeser Receive NIH/NIAMS Grant to Study Effects of Vitamin K on Osteoarthritis
This novel, randomized clinical trial will evaluate if vitamin K supplementation impacts pain and function in patients with knee OA who are vitamin K insufficient. There is a growing body of epidemiological, genetic and biochemical evidence that vitamin K plays a role in maintaining joint health. The study will provide initial data in support of a larger confirmatory trial to det … Read more
Drs. Phanstiel and Loeser Receive $2.5M NIH NIAMS Grant to ID Osteoarthritis Risk Genes
Dr. Richard F. Loeser is the Joseph P. Archie, Jr. Eminent Professor of Medicine in the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology. Dr. Doug Phanstiel – who is in the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology – is the principal investigator, and Dr. Loeser is a co-principal investigator for the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases grant, “Id … Read more
Dr. Longobardi’s Research Demonstrates Deletion of Ccr2 in Cartilaginous Tissues Reduces Impact of Post Traumatic Osteoarthritis & Pain
Lara Longobardi, PhD, is an associate professor in the the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology. The research showed early deletion of Ccr2 in aggrecan-expressing cells reduces the initiation, but not the progression, of post traumatic osteoarthritis and its associated pain. View the article published in Osteoarthritis and Cartilage.
Department of Medicine Grants & Funding: August 1 – August 31, 2022
Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology Amanda Nelson, MD, MSCR, RhMSUS, received, a 5-Year, $3.4M NIH grant to investigate intestinal permeability in multi-joint osteoarthritis Saira Sheikh, MD, and team receive $500K NIH U01 “Innovation Award” from FDA’s Office of Minority Health & Health Equity, to advance diversity and representation in lupus. Amanda Nelson, MD, … Read more